New figures have revealed that consumers spent 18% more on Black Friday 2014 than they did on the same day in the previous year as they looked to get the best deals in the run-up to Christmas.

GENERAL MERCHANDISE

Black Friday spending up 18% in 2014

6 January 2015 | by The Retail Bulletin

New figures have revealed that consumers spent 18% more on Black Friday 2014 than they did on the same day in the previous year as they looked to get the best deals in the run-up to Christmas.

According to data from Barclaycard, which processes nearly half of all the UK’s debit and credit card transactions, Black Friday 2014 was the highest spending day on record as UK consumers spent £810 million in one day.

While spending rose significantly both online and in-store, online spending was 37.5% higher than Black Friday 2013. Furthermore, the level of spending was up so much that it shifted the proportion of total online spending so far this season by 4 percentage points to 25.8%.

Barclaycard’s figures show that many categories of retail saw spending increase by 50% or more on 2013, with even larger increases online. Online department store spend jumped by 144% compared to Black Friday 2013 with in-store spend up 44%. Online spending on clothing was 98% higher than the same time last year with in-store spend rising by 38%. Discount stores also saw a significant rise in sales, with spending up 46% online and 53% in-store.

Barclaycard found that electronics was one of the few categories where spending in-store grew more than it did online. Its figures reveal that consumers spent double the amount in-store this year compared to 57% more online.

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